Little Apple in the States
by MewMeori
Summary: Yuki Kaai, a nine year old girl from Japan, goes to America to study. There, she finds new friends, everyday adventures, and maybe even love. A Vocaloid fanfiction that gradually leads into YukixOliver.
1. Arrival

It was a nice, breezy fall day. In the sky were many airplanes zooming about; on one was a young girl with brown eyes and black hair with the tips dyed purple. She sat there looking out the window, gazing at the clouds. After a moment, she turned to her belongings beside her. She looked through them, trying to find something to quench her boredom; she had been on the plane for quite a few hours by then and had exhausted most of her activities.

Around five minutes later, her hand landed on a letter. With a sigh, she took the letter and got ready to read it for what could be the twentieth time. She opened it up and started to read the first few lines.

"Dear Miss Yuki Kaai,

We are happy to tell you that your exchange student application has been accepted,..."

Once she got to the final line, she put the letter away and grabbed a workbook.

"Ok, lets go over this again..." she mumbled to herself as she opened the book. As the pages turned, her eyes met the desired phrases.

"How are you? I am fine," she practiced to herself "What is your name? I am Yuki Kaai. It is very nice to meet you," she turned the pages once more and fell upon a phrase Luka had written incase any perverts approached her. She let out a smile and then, out loud, said the phrase.

"Go f*ck yourself pervert!"

* * *

Yuki started to collect the belongings she had brought on the plane and started to follow the other people unboarding. It had been a long trip and she was glad it was over; very, very glad it was over.

As soon as the young girl walked into the airport, she looked around. There were many things very different and yet very similar to the airport she had come from. The one major difference was that, aside from maybe a sign or two, everything was in a different set of characters. After looking at a few signs, the girl walked towards the gate exit and saw a very tall man holding a sign with her name on it. She walked up to him and held out a tiny I.D.

"I'm Yuki Kaai," she told him in a monotone voice.

"Ah, so you're Yuki!" he said cheerfully "It's so nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you!" Yuki stared up at the extremely tall man. "He looks like he could be taller than Ruko," she thought.

In short; she was fascinated with the man's height.

"Alright, shall we go?" the man asked Yuki.

"Ok," she answered.

The two then went to the luggage return and Yuki looked for her bags. She saw one and quickly retrieved it. When she saw a second bag, she got it after struggling a bit.

"You got all that?" the man asked seeing Yuki struggling.

"Y-Yeah..." she replied, trying to keep hold of her bags. The man quickly swept the tiny girl onto his shoulders and took her bags.

"W-Wah!" Yuki let out in surprise,

"Ok, just tell me when any of your bags come through," he said to Yuki.

"A-Alright," she replied, still in a bit of shock.

"How many bags do you have left?"

"Two,"

"Alright,"

The two then looked carefully for the bags.

"There they are," she said as she pointed at two bags.

"The purple and the brown ones?" the man asked, looking up at the girl on his shoulders.

"Yeah," she answered with a nod. The man then took the bags and started to walk towards the exit. He let Yuki off his shoulders and they started to walk. After a moment or two, the man turned to Yuki and said

"I don't think I introduced myself, I'm Al Biginns, but just call me Al,"

"It's fine...Al," Yuki replied, hesitating to say his name. Al gave Yuki a smile and the two then walked to the car.

Once they were in the car, on their way, Yuki started to pack a school bag, for she was being driven to school first thing.

"Got your bag packed?" Al asked Yuki as he drove.

"Yeah" she replied, stuffing one last thing into her bag. She then looked up at the ceiling. She wondered what it would be like in her new school and how her classmates would be.

After about twenty minutes passed, they reached the school. Yuki stepped out of the car with her school bag.

"Have a great first day!" Al called out to Yuki from the car. Yuki waved and then went inside.

When she was inside, she went to the front desk and asked

"Excuse me, where is the office?"

"Room one twenty-two," the women at the desk said in a monotone voice, not even looking up from her magazine.

"Thank you," Yuki said before she started to walk to the office. She counted the numbers along the way. She looked and counted until she found a big, double doored room with the number "one hundred twenty-two" over the doors. She opened a door, struggling slighty, it was heavy, and walked into the office.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked.

"I just transferred here, I'm Yuki Kaai," Yuki answered.

"Oh! You must be the new exchange student from Japan!" the woman said excitedly.

"Yes," Yuki answered with less than half the excitement of the woman. "Can you tell me what class I'm in?"

"Oh, yes, let me go get your file, hun," the woman told Yuki. The woman then ran into another room and came back a minute later with a piece of paper.

"Ok, you're in class six-o-two, room two thirty-three. you skipped quite a few grades up," she said, looking at Yuki "Impressive!"

"Thank you," Yuki said in reply. The woman then gave Yuki the paper and Yuki went on her way to class. She climbed the stairs and then, once again, counted the rooms. After three minutes, she found the room she was looking for and knocked on the door. A man opened the door and let her in.

"You must be the new exchange student," the man said, looking at Yuki.

"Yes," Yuki said in reply.

"Alright then," he said in a dull tone. He then lead Yuki to the front of the room.

"Introduce yourself," he told the girl, taking a seat at his desk.

Yuki took a second to think of what to say, took a deep breath, and then started to speak.

"My name is Yuki Kaai, I am nine years old. I've come from Japan to study here," she said aloud. In response, the class broke into a series of murmurs. The teacher then glanced around the room until his eyes fell to one student.

"Oliver," he called. A boy with blonde hair and bandages around one eye looked up at the teacher.

"Yes sir?" the boy asked.

"Be miss Kaai's tour guide for the day," the man told Oliver.

"Yes sir,"Oliver answered.

"And luckily enough, there is an empty desk next to mister Oliver for you miss Kaai," the teacher told Yuki as he pointed at the desk. Yuki walked over to the desk, sat down and put her bag on her desk.

"In five minutes, I will allow mister Oliver to tour you around the school," the teacher told Yuki in his dull toned voice.

Just like clockwork, five minutes later, Oliver and Yuki were given hall-passes and were starting to walk.

"I didn't introduce myself before, so, hi, I'm Oliver," the boy said to Yuki, a bit of shyness to his voice.

"Nice to meet you Oliver," Yuki said in reply. She tried not to stare, but her eyes strayed to the bandages around Oliver's eye within seconds. Oliver noticed where her eyes were looking and lightly touched the bandages.

"I was in an accident last year, most of my other wounds have healed, but they're not sure if my eye will heal. They'll probably have to remove it..." he explained.

"I, I'm so sorry..." Yuki said to him, shocked and sorry she had pried into his business.

"So, let's start the tour," Oliver said with a nervous laugh, trying to break the tension. Yuki gave a nod and they went on their way. They climbed down the stairs and went to the first floor. Oliver showed Yuki the office, the bathrooms, and a few classrooms. They then stopped at a small room.

"What's this room?" Yuki asked curiously.

"It's the nurses' office," Oliver told her. He then knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from inside. Oliver opened the door to reveal a small room filled with medical equipment and a woman with long blonde hair sitting in the middle of it all.

"Hi Oliver," she said to the boy warmly. She then noticed Yuki

"Who's your friend over there?" she asked.

"I'm Yuki Kaai," Yuki told her.

"Oh, the new exchange student, right?" she asked Yuki.

"Yes," Yuki answered, she was getting bored of this question.

"I had heard the teachers talking about two exchange students from Japan," the nurse went on to say.

"Two?" Yuki asked, a bit of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, I think their name was something like Rizu Nakine?"

Yuki's eyes showed a lot of surprise.

"Could the name be 'Ritsu Namine'?" Yuki asked.

"Ah yes, that was it!" the nurse answered happily "Do you know him?"

"Yes, he's a close friend," Yuki answered, excitement sparking in her voice. She was happy that he was going to be here; she hoped they'd be in the same class.

"We should probably be going," Oliver said to Yuki and the nurse.

"Oh, right," Yuki replied, remembering where she was.

"Ok then," the nurse said "Anyway, my name is Hinotori and if you ever need something, just come to me, ok Yuki?" she said with a smile.

"Ok," Yuki replied. Yuki and Oliver then exited the office and were heading to the third floor.

The two climbed up to the third floor and Yuki was shown a few more classrooms and another bathroom. They then started walking down the stairs to the last few classes, which were on the second floor.

"Well, I guess this is the end of the tour," the blonde said.

"I guess," Yuki nodded.

"I guess we can talk more when we get home,"

"Huh?" Yuki tilted her head in a confused fashion.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you; I'm part of you host family,"

"Really?"

"Mhm,"

"Oh, c-cool," Yuki said, surprised he was part of her host family.

"We should probably get back to class," Oliver said, a bit of worry in his voice.

"Yeah," Yuki agreed. The two then walked over to their classroom, opened the door, and went back inside.

* * *

School was getting out and everyone was starting to leave. Oliver and Yuki walked out of the building. Oliver started to scan the cars for their ride home.

"I found my Mom's car," Oliver told Yuki.

"Ok," Yuki answered. The two then walked over to a silver car with a woman with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes sitting in the driver's seat. As soon as Yuki and Oliver came close enough, she smiled at the happily.

"Hi Oliver!" she said to Oliver happily. She then looked over at Yuki.

"And you must be Yuki," she said as she smiled at Yuki. The young girl nodded.

"Nice to meet you dear," the woman said with a smile "My name's Ann. Now, why don't you two get into the car so we can drive home?"

"Ok," the two children said before opening the doors and getting into the car. After the doors were closed and seat belts were on, the car started to move and they were on their way home.

Along the way, Ann asked Yuki how her first day was, how she liked the school, and many other things. About halfway through the drive, Yuki got a call on her cellphone, which was bought specifically for this trip. It was a number she didn't recognize. She opened it and asked

"Hello?"

"Yuki?" a familiar voice asked in return. That voice was so familiar to her. She wondered if it was who she thought it was...Could it be?

"M-Miku?" Yuki asked "Is that you?"

"Yup!" the caller said in reply "How was your first day?"

"It was good," Yuki answered. In the background of Miku's side, Yuki heard Rin yelling "Hi!"

"Rin says hi," Miku told Yuki "Oh, hey, what's your host family's address?"

"Two hundred and three, Midrode street, why?" Yuki asked.

"No reason! Anyway, talk to you soon!" Miku said, hanging up after.

Yuki thought that call was...Strange. Why would Miku ask where her hosts lived? She dismissed the thoughts and chatted with Ann a bit more.

Around ten minutes later, they got home. As they were walking to the door, Yuki looked around. There was a porch with stairs and patio furniture on it, something Yuki wasn't accustomed to. Right before she climbed the stairs, Ann gave a nod. This confused Yuki, why did she nod? A few seconds later, she found out why; Yuki suddenly felt two hands plop down on her shoulders and she let out a tiny scream. She spun around a few seconds later and saw a girl with teal pigtails and a blonde girl with a white bow behind her.

"M-Miku, R-Rin?" Yuki asked, still surprised.

"Yup!" the teal haired girl said in reply.

"Great job Miku!" the blonde girl laughed. She then walked up to Oliver and looked him over.

"Hey Yuki, this your boyfriend?" the blonde, Rin, asked.

"N-No!" Yuki answered quickly. Rin let out another laugh and recieved a nice bonk on the head from Miku.

"Owie!" she said as she rubbed her head.

"It's not nice to tease like that," Miku told Rin. The teal girl then turned to Yuki.

"So anyway, we decided to try and be exchange students too," Miku explained "Even Gumi's here, it seems she's having some trouble though. Her last text said 'How do I Spanish?'"

"Really?" Yuki asked.

"Yup. We should probably go now though," Miku said in reply "Bye!"

"Bye!" Rin called out as well. The two then started to run towards a car. There was a man and a woman in the car. Ann was talking to them when Miku and Rin started running over.

"Well, I supposed it's time for us to leave," the woman said, her black hair shining in the sun.

"Bye Prima, Tonio; say hi to Sonika for me," Ann said with a smile.

"I certainly will," Prima said, also smiling. The two girls then hopped into the car and they started to drive away. Yuki, Ann, and Oliver waved until the car couldn't be seen anymore. The three then went into the house. Ann started making dinner and Yuki and Oliver started doing their homework.

About two hours later, Al opened the door.

"You'll never guess who I ran into," he said happily. He came inside and then a girl with extremely long, blonde hair and blue eyes came in.

"Heya!" she said with a wave.

"Hi SeeU, come for dinner again?" Ann greeted the girl happily.

"Yeah, parents are working late again, SeeU said, stretching a bit.

"Well, you're always welcome here," Al said to her.

"I know," SeeU said with a giggle. She then walked up to Oliver.

"Hi Ollie," she said, rustling and messing up his hair.

"H-Hi SeeU," he said, slightly bothered by her messing up his hair.

SeeU gave a giggle and then noticed Yuki.

"Oh, you must be the exchange student being hosted!" SeeU said excitedly. Yuki gave a simple nod and then SeeU hugged her.

"You're so cute!" SeeU said, hugging Yuki tightly.

"Th-Thanks?" Yuki said, highly alarmed by the sudden embrace.

Then, as if she was Yuki's savior, Ann called out "Dinner's ready!"

"Yay, I came here at just the right time!" SeeU said gleefully as she quickly walked over to the table and took a seat. Al, Yuki, and Oliver took seats at the table and Ann brought out the food and set it on the table. She then took a seat and said

"Enjoy!"

Everyone started to eat. Yuki ate about half of her meal and then stopped.

"Something wrong?" SeeU asked, her mouth full.

"I'm just full," Yuki answered, twirling a noodle with her fork.

"Can I have it then?" SeeU asked.

"Uh, sure," Yuki said in reply. SeeU then scrapped Yuki's food onto her plate and then, like a pig and its meal of slop, SeeU began to engulf the extra food down. Yuki wondered how she ate like that without becoming overweight or dirty. Yuki found SeeU's eating a bit..."Fascinating" in the least.

"The only thing we have to worry about with hosting a girl is that Oliver will sneak into her room in the middle of the night," Ann joked.

"Yes, he is quite the little dog," Al said, extending the joke.

"Oh, of course," SeeU chimed in with a giggle.

"E-Eh?" Oliver let out in confusion.

"He's...He's so innocent," Yuki thought to herself.

A little while later, dinner was finished and Oliver was helping Ann with the dishes.

"Ah, that was really good," SeeU said, stretching.

"I'll drive you home," Al said to SeeU, getting their coats.

"Thanks!" SeeU said happily "Bye guys!" she waved before she and Al left.

Yuki was then shown her room and she started to get ready for bed. Once Yuki had changed, Ann peaked her head through the door.

"Have a good night," she told Yuki quietly before closing the door.

Yuki then climbed into bed and fell asleep.

-Chapter One, END-


	2. A Lively Chat

Yuki sat at her desk, her cheek resting on her hand as she stared up at the clock.

"Come on..." she thought to herself. A minute later, the bell for lunch rang. Yuki quickly got up and put her belongings in her book-bag. She then, like all others in the class, started walking to the lunch room.

She had been at the school for about a month now, had gotten used to almost everything, and had even made a few friends.

Once Yuki got to the lunch room, she spotted her best friend, who had also transferred from Japan, Ritsu. She walked up to him and said "Hi Ritsu," with a smile.

"Hi Yuki," he said back quietly. The two then sat at a table and got out their lunches. Later on, Oliver and another boy joined them.

"Hi Oliver, Yuyu," Yuki said, brushing her black hair out of her eyes, the tips of her hair now dyed a bright yellow.

"Hi," the two boys said in return. They all proceeded to eat their lunches.

Yuki had a sandwich and an apple, Ritsu had a salad, and Oliver and Yuyu had sandwiches as well. Once they had all finished, they went outside, into the playground. They sat at a small table and talked about various things; what they were learning in class, new events, new experiences, and other things. As they were talking, Yuki noticed there was a cut across Ritsu's fingers.

"Hey Ritsu," Yuki started, trying to be casual.

"Yes?" Ritsu asked in reply.

"What's that cut across your fingers?" Yuki asked him.

"Oh, that. Well, uhm, I was helping Seika make dinner and accidentally cut myself," Ritsu explained.

"Oh, ok," Yuki said in reply.

Yuki worried for Ritsu; he was a very delicate soul, so fragile that a single word could make him crumble.

"W-Well, uhm, thank god it's Friday?" Yuyu said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Yuki said with a relieved sigh.

"Halloween's coming up," Yuyu said happily.

"Oh, where you dress up, right?" Yuki asked.

"Yup!" Yuyu answered "And then starts the holiday season," he said with a smile.

"Holiday season?" Yuki asked.

"Mhm; Thanks Giving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa," Yuyu went on.

"What's Thanks Giving?" Yuki asked.

"I'll have my parents explain it to you," Oliver told Yuki.

"Ok," Yuki answered.

Soon, recess was over and they went back to class. A few minutes into class, Oliver got sent to the nurse for his daily bandage change and eye examination, nothing out of the usual. Yuki scribbled down notes in her notebook, she already knew most of the material, but she didn't want to be completely lazy. She then gazed at the window and watched the birds pass by.

"I hope Ritsu gets accustomed to here soon," Yuki thought to herself.


	3. Halloween and Cabbage Flavored Candy

"You two ready to go trick-or-treating?" Ann asked cheerfully.

"Yeah!" Oliver and Yuki said happily. Oliver was dressed as a pirate and Yuki as a black cat.

"You two look so cute!" Ann said with a smile "Now, lets go,"

The three then walked over to the spot they had agreed to meet Ritsu and Yuyu. When they got there, Ritsu and Yuyu greeted them happily.

"Hi guys!" Yuyu said, trying to be in character, which was a magician, and perform a card trick. He failed and ended up having to pick all the cards up. Ritsu was dressed up as a witch, he had a hat on his head, a broom in one hand, and was wearing a beautiful sparkly skirt and black tank top.

"You look pretty Ritsu," Yuki told her good friend with a smile.

"Thanks!" Ritsu said happily.

The group then started to go door to door for candy and other treats. They got all sorts of candies, chocolates, and little trinkets galore. They then came across a haunted house.

"Hey, lets go here," Yuki said as she pointed to the house.

"I-I don't kn-know, it looks scary..." Yuyu said worriedly.

"You can stay out here with me if you want," Ann told Yuyu kindly.

"N-No, I'll g-go," Yuyu replied. Ann payed for the tickets and then Yuki, Oliver, Ritsu, and Yuyu all went inside. Yuyu ended up running and screaming within the first few minutes. Ritsu went ahead a bit and Yuki and Oliver were left alone.

"Pretty cool so far," Yuki said to Oliver as they walked.

"Yeah," Oliver said with a smile. Just then, something jumped out at Yuki. She let out a scream and hugged Oliver's arm.

"Y-You ok?" Oliver asked, blushing.

"Y-Yeah," Yuki replied oblivious to Oliver's blush. She then noticed she was hugging his arm.

"Oops, sorry," she said, letting go.

"I-It's ok," Oliver told her, covering part of his face with his hat. Yuki only questioned his action for a moment; for she heard a scream. She quickly started to run towards the scream. Yuki eventually came across Ritsu, who was sitting on the floor, shivering with fear. Yuki sat next to him and asked

"Ritsu, what happened? Are you ok?"

Ritsu gave a tiny nod in reply.

"What got you so scared?" Yuki asked him, her voice very soft.

Ritsu slowly pointed at a set up in front of him. Yuki looked up and saw what it was; it was a young girl strapped down to a table, a man with a chainsaw standing above her. She also noticed a sound effect played every twenty something seconds.

"Oh Ritsu..." Yuki said before hugging him. After maybe three minutes, Yuki asked

"Are you ready to move on?"

Ritsu nodded and then he and Yuki got up. Oliver then rejoined them and they walked through the rest of the haunted house. Once they exited, they were greeted by Ann and Yuyu.

"You guys ok? You were in there a while," Ann asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, Ritsu just got a little freaked out," Yuki answered.

"Well, it was pretty scary in there," Yuyu pointed out, trying to comfort Ritsu.

"Yeah," Yuki nodded, patting Ritsu's back softly. It was a bit hard to reach, for there was quite a height difference between the two.

After a while more, they all went back to Yuki and Oliver's house and sorted through candy.

"Any apple flavored candies?" Yuki asked her friends.

"I got one!" Yuyu answered.

"I'll trade you for an ice-cream flavored one," she told him.

"Deal!" Yuyu answered. The two then switched candies.

"Oh, I have one too," Oliver said, holding up the small candy.

"Hm...What do you want for it?" Yuki asked.

"You can just have it," Oliver smiled as he gave Yuki the candy.

"Th-Thanks!" Yuki said to Oliver with a smile.

"What's this?" Yuyu asked. Yuki and Oliver turned to him and saw him holding up a green candy.

"Ew, it's cabbage flavored!" Yuyu exclaimed. Ritsu let out a little gasp and asked

"Can, can I have that?"

"Sure, I don't want it," Yuyu said, giving Ritsu the candy. Ritsu smiled as he held the green candy.

Yuki was glad everyone was happy and she herself was having a great time. They went through a few more candy trades and then sat down for dinner.

"Thank you for letting Yuyu and me stay for dinner," Ritsu said to Ann politely.

"No problem," Ann said to him with a smile "Dinner's almost done, just a few more minutes,"

Al came in then, holding a basket with some candy in it.

"Smells good," he said, smiling at Ann. He then looked over to the kids.

"Hey guys, collect a lot of candy?" Al asked the kids happily.

The kids nodded. Dinner was then brought out and everyone started to eat. The diner was made up of vegetables, potatoes, beef. Everyone was happily eating, talking, and being jolly.

After dinner was finished, Ritsu and Yuyu went home and Yuki and Oliver got ready to sleep.

-Chapter 3, END-


	4. Birds and Bad Movie Choices

"Hey, Yuki," Oliver started.

"Yeah?" Yuki asked in reply.

"U-Uh, what's your relationship with Ritsu?" he asked her.

"Oh, well," Yuki tapped her chin as she took a minute to think, she then said "Like a big sister I guess,"

"R-Really?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, why?" she asked in reply.

"N-No reason," Oliver blushed, looking away "I'm gonna go take care of James for a minute,"

"But we're in the middle of a game," Yuki pointed out. The two had been playing a video-game together.

"Just a few minutes," he said as he got up and walked to his room.

After about five minutes, Yuki got impatient and started to walk to Oliver's room. When she got there, she saw Oliver sitting on his bed, his bird, James, on his shoulder. Yuki didn't go in, but just watched.

"She's so pretty and kind. I really like her, but I've only known her for a little while. I don't want to scare her, and I'm generally nervous about it too. Oh James, what do I do?" Oliver said to his bird. James seemed to chirp in reply.

"Who is he talking about?" Yuki thought. She then knocked on his door and went in.

"H-Hi Yuki," Oliver said, a little blush on his cheeks.

"Hi," she said back.

James then let out a chirp. Oliver looked at the bird with confusion. James then flew onto Yuki's shoulder. He chirped again and Oliver smiled.

"I think he likes you," Oliver said to Yuki with a smile.

"Cool," Yuki said back with a smile. She then turned to James and said "Thank you James, you're quite the handsome bird," with a little laugh. James chirped in reply and flew back to Oliver. Oliver smiled at he bird and then looked at Yuki.

"I'll put him away in a minute, you can wait back by the TV if you'd like," he told Yuki.

"Nah, I'll wait here," she said in reply.

"Ok," Oliver said with a smile.

About a minute later, James was put away and the two went back to and finished their game within a few minutes.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Yuki asked Oliver.

"Sure," Oliver said happily.

"I know a good one, let me go get it," Yuki told him. Yuki then rushed to her room and came back with a DVD,

She popped the DVD into the DVD-Player and they started to watch the movie. All was going fine until one scene. In the movie, it showed a character in a bus crash accident. At that moment, Yuki turned to Oliver. He looked pale and had a startled expression on his face.

"That scene's kinda scary," Yuki said to Oliver, trying to comfort him.

His expression didn't change for the better and Yuki thought she saw tears in his eye.

"Is, is he crying?" Yuki thought to herself.

"Oliver, are you ok?" Yuki asked him, worry in her voice.

"Y-Yeah," he replied shakily.

"Then why are you crying?" Yuki asked him.

There was a somewhat long pause, and then Oliver responded.

"Th-The accid-dent I was in w-was a bus c-crash," Oliver told her, his voice shaking.

"Oh god, I, I'm so sorry," Yuki said to him, shock now in her voice.

"I-It's ok, y-you didn't kn-know," he said in reply, his voice still quivering.

Yuki then gently wiped a tear from Oliver's face and hugged him. He cried a bit more and then started to calm down. Yuki gave him a tiny smile.

"I'll go get a different movie," she told Oliver before she started walking to her room.

She felt bad. She felt really bad about what had happened. As she walked into her room, she noticed her cellphone starting to ring.

"Hello?" she said, answering it.

"Hi, Yuki?" a voice asked.

"SeeU?" Yuki asked back, confused on how exactly SeeU had gotten her number.

"Hi Yuki!" said said excitedly "It may be a bit early, but, wanna go Christmas shopping?"

"It is a bit early," Yuki replied.

"Maybe in a few weeks, after Black Friday," SeeU suggested.

"What's black friday?" Yuki asked.

"You don't know what Black Friday is? Maybe I should take you then!" SeeU answered.

"Ok," Yuki said, somewhat monotone.

"Yay! See ya later then!" SeeU said happily.

"Ok," Yuki said again. She then hung up, selected a new movie, and then walked back to Oliver.

"Sorry, SeeU called me," Yuki explained.

"It's ok," Oliver replied.

Yuki the popped in the new movie and they started to watch.

-Chapter 4, END-


	5. Yuki to the Rescue

"Have a good Thanks Giving!" a bunch of girls said to Yuki.

"You too," Yuki said in reply. She then started to walk, running into Oliver.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hi," he said in return.

"Where's Ritsu?" Yuki asked.

"He said he'd wait by the door," Oliver answered.

"Ok," Yuki said.

The two continued to walk. When they got close to the exit, they saw Ritsu's belongings scattered across the floor and Ritsu on the floor being kicked and hit by a few boys.

"S-Stop!" Ritsu cried out.

"It's what yo deserve you little freak!" one of the boys said while the others laughed.

Yuki quickly ran over and pulled off one of the boys with all the strength she had.

"Get off him!" Yuki yelled angrily.

"Why? The little fucker should be hit," the boy replied.

Yuki's blood started to boil, starting to become filled with rage.

"How dare he?" she thought as her her hands turned into fists.

"Hi-cha!" he said as she kicked the boy between the legs. He fell over and started to whimper in pain. The other boys looked at him and then at Yuki.

"Anyone want to be next?" Yuki said in a growl.

The rest of the boys quickly ran away and Ritsu sat up, his body covered in bruises. Yuki sat down beside him and hugged him, trying to soothe him. Ritsu cried for a while, and when he was done, he and Yuki got up. Oliver rejoined them and they went outside.

The three started to look for their ride home when Al walked up to them.

"There you guys are; I was wondering where you were. What took you guys so long?" Al asked them.

"Just a little situation," Yuki answered.

They all walked to the car and got in. Al first drove Ritsu home and then went back home with Yuki and Oliver. As they entered the house, the saw a frantic Ann, cooking for tomorrow's dinner.

"Are the potatoes done? No? Oh no, is something burning? No, nothing is," Ann was saying to herself as she cooked.

"I'll go get something for us too eat, Ann's too busy cooking for tomorrow to make us dinner," Al said. He then went back outside.

"Oliver, what do you want to do?" Yuki asked.

"I dunno," Oliver answered.

"Hm..." Yuki started to think, what could they do?

"We could play a game," Oliver suggested.

"Ok," Yuki said "What game?"

"Brawl?" Oliver suggested.

"Ok," Yuki said. She got the game, put it in the console, and they started to play.

After a few minutes, Yuki looked over at Oliver.

"Hey, Oliver," she started.

"Yeah?" he said in reply.

"Is it hard for you to play games like this?" she asked.

"What do you- Oh," he stopped himself, realizing she was talking about his lack of vision "It's a little difficult, but I'm ok,"

"Ok..." Yuki said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She felt bad for Oliver, she wished she could help him somehow.

Oliver noticed her looking a bit glum.

"I'm fine, really," he said, lightly touching Yuki's shoulder "I promise," He then gave a little smile, trying to cheer his friend up.

Yuki looked up at the blonde boy and gave a nod.

"Ok," she said, trying to believe what he was saying. She was still a bit sad for him though.

-Chapter 5, END-


	6. Good Stuffing, Bad Dreams

The day was a bit chilly, various colors of leaves falling from the trees. In the drive-way of the Biginns house were a few cars. Inside the house, there were people talking and laughing.

"Dinner's ready!" Ann called as she started to bring food out to the table.

Everyone sat at the table, still chattering. A girl with green hair was talking to SeeU.

"You sure you don't wanna come with us tomorrow Gumi?" SeeU asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to be trampled over," the green haired girl said with a giggle.

At the other side of the table, Yuki was talking to Ritsu.

"Having a good time Ritsu?" Yuki asked her friend.

"Yeah, I am," Ritsu replied with a small smile "What about you?

"I'm having a great time too," Yuki said with a smile.

"I hope there's lots of cabbage tonight," Ritsu said. Yuki let out a giggle and patted Ritsu's head.

"I'm sure there will be," she smiled.

As the last dish was set on the table, everyone started to eat. Gumi quickly took some carrots and started to gobble them down. Ritsu took some cabbage and slowly ate it; only picking at the other food he had taken right before. Yuki took a taste of the stuffing and found it to have a delicious, sweet, apple-y flavor.

"Yuki, you should try the turkey!" SeeU told Yuki from across the table, her mouth full.

"Uh, ok," Yuki said in reply. Yuki took a little of the turkey and tried it. It wasn't bad, but she decided to stick with the stuffing.

Everyone continued to eat and talk. About half way through the meal, Ann fell asleep. Al noticed and tapped her shoulder.

"Five more minutes..." she mumbled in her sleep.

"Honey, you're at the table, please wake up," Al said to her. Ann's eyes opened and then she looked around.

"Eh? Oh, I dozed off? Oh no..." she said to herself, embarrassed.

"You can sleep if you want, though maybe in your bed instead of at the table. You were up all night cooking for us, you deserve to rest," Al told her.

"I might just do that," Ann said with a yawn.

An hour later, everyone had finished eating. They all talked a while longer and then Gumi went home.

"We better sleep now, we'll need our rest," SeeU said to the kids. Yuki and Oliver went to their rooms and SeeU and Ritsu opened up sleeping-bags in the living room.

* * *

It was about two in the morning. Yuki was fast asleep until she heard a knock on her door. She sat up with a yawn and turned her lamp on. She looked at her clock and frowned at the time it told. She slowly got up and opened the door. Behind it was Ritsu.

"S-Sorry to bother you this late Yuki, b-but I had a n-nightm-mare," Ritsu told Yuki.

"It's fine, come in," Yuki replied.

Ritsu then walked into the room. Yuki closed the door and the two then sat on Yuki's bed.

"What was your nightmare about?" Yuki asked calmly.

"I-I dreamed that h-he came back and t-took me aw-way," the young red-head said, a few tears dripping from his eyes.

Yuki quickly hugged Ritsu and stroked his back gently.

"Ritsu, it's alright, he won't ever come back. He won't ever take you away, I won't let him," she said to Ritsu, her arms wrapped around him.

Ritsu gave a little nod and continued to cry softly.

"You can sleep in here if you want," Yuki told him, her tone soft.

"O-Ok-k," Ritsu said with a little sniffle.

"We should probably sleep now," Yuki said.

Ritsu nodded in reply. The two then tried to get back to sleep. Ritsu fell asleep first. Yuki smiled at her younger friend and fell asleep a few minutes later.

-Chapter 6, END-


	7. The Chaos Known as Black Friday

"Almost open!" SeeU said excitedly.

Yuki yawned and looked around. There were many people on line, waiting for the department store to open. A couple minutes later, it opened and a flood of people ran in. People ran in every direction one could imagine. As Yuki was walking in, a man carrying a large box that blocked his sight, started running towards her. Just as he came very close to her, Oliver pushed him back.

"Watch where you're going!" Oliver said, anger in his voice, a mean look in his eye.

Yuki was shocked, this was the first time she had seen Oliver angry. The man gave a look and then went on his way. Once the man was gone, Oliver turned to Yuki.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she replied.

"Ok, we should probably stick together, it's dangerous here," Oliver said, taking hold of one of Yuki's hands.

"O-Ok," Yuki said, noticing her hand was in Oliver's.

Yuki didn't know why, but she felt different with her hand in Oliver's. She didn't know if it was dislike, or anything else.

As the two walked, Yuki spotted some clothing she liked. She told Oliver and they walked over to the various clothing and Yuki started to look through it all. Yuki picked out a few things and the two started to walk again. They spotted SeeU and Ritsu and started to walk to them. As the two got closer, they noticed Ritsu had a black eye.

"Ritsu, what happened?" Yuki asked him, worry in her voice.

"Some jackass punched him to get him to drop a game," SeeU started to explain "I showed him not to beat up little kids though, and got the game back too,"

"I-It was scary..." Ritsu said quietly.

"We'll get some ice on that eye once we get out of here, ok?" Yuki told him, her voice very gentle.

"Ok," Ritsu said with a nod.

"Oh, I have an idea!" SeeU started "Lets switch partners! "I'll go with Oliver and Yuki can go with Ritsu,"

"Sounds ok with me," Yuki said.

"Ok," Oliver said.

"Great, lets go!" SeeU said excitedly as she grabbed Oliver's hand and ran off.

Yuki and Ritsu started to walk around, looking at various items. As they walked, Yuki felt someone was following them. She quickly turned around and saw a shady man was behind her.

"Oh, hi little girl, want some candy?" he asked.

"No, go away," Yuki replied.

"I'm just trying to be friendly," he said with a smile as he walked close to Yuki.

Just as Yuki was about to teach the man a lesson, Ritsu tackled the man and then sat on him. Ritsu started to yell things in Japanese, specifically things that translated to "Go away pervert!", "Stupid pervert!", and "Pedobear!"

"Get off me brat!" he commanded angrily "You're heavy!"

"No!" Ritsu said back, not moving an inch.

Yuki quickly called over a member of the security staff, told them what had happened, and the security took the man.

"That was really brave of you," Yuki said to Ritsu.

"Well, I didn't want you to be hurt," he replied "You're my best friend,"

Yuki smiled at Ritsu warmly. Yuki's cellphone started to ring then. She picked it up.

"SeeU?" she said into the phone.

"Hey Yuki! Ready to check-out?" SeeU asked.

"I think so, hold on," Yuki said back. She looked over at Ritsu and asked "You ready to check-out Ritsu?"

"Yes," Ritsu answered.

"Ok,"Yuki said before going back to her conversation with SeeU "We're ready,"

"Ok!" We'll meet you at the exit!" SeeU said before hanging up.

Yuki and Ritsu found their way to the registers and payed for their items. They walked to the exit and found SeeU and Oliver waiting for them.

"Hey guys!" SeeU said happily "Anything interesting happen to you guys?"

"No," Yuki lied, not saying anything about the creepy man who had approached Ritsu and herself; she didn't find it important.

"Ok, lets go get some food!" SeeU said happily.

"What kind?" Oliver asked.

"I was thinking that fancy sandwich place close by," SeeU answered with a smile.

"Sounds good to me," Yuki said, stretching a bit.

"Ok then, lets go!" SeeU said happily.

The group started to walk. About half way there, SeeU sped up and made Yuki match her pace. She then turned her head slightly towards Yuki.

"Yuki," she started.

"Yeah?" Yuki asked.

"Why was Ritsu in your bed last night?" SeeU asked.

"Oh, well, he had a nightmare, so I let him stay with me for the night," Yuki answered.

"Oh, ok," SeeU said "Hey, Yuki, what do you think of Oliver?"

"He's nice, a bit shy though," Yuki replied "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Oh, we're here!" SeeU said as the group walked to the entrance of the restaurant. They went inside, ordered their meals and a cold water bottle for Ritsu to put on his eye. After they were finished eating, they headed back to Yuki and Oliver's house. Ritsu and SeeU stuck around for a while and then left.

When everyone had gone, Yuki plopped down on her bed and went to sleep, the day had been quite a tiring one.

-Chapter 7, END-


	8. Birthday Presents

It was a chilly day, December clearly there. Snow was starting to powder the streets white. While over half of Yuki's classmates were standing by the windows, she just sat and watched them.

She found their reactions a bit ridiculous. Snow was just snow, what was the big deal? Yuki let out a sigh as she scribbled in her notebook. Oliver walked over to her and asked

"Not going to look at the snow?"

"I don't see why it's such a big deal," she replied, looking up at him.

"Ah, ok," he said "Your birthday's tomorrow, excited?"

"Yeah, I guess," Yuki replied "My family in Japan wants to Skype during it,"

"Oh, cool," Oliver said with a smile "After lunch, I think the class is throwing a party for you, since tomorrow is Saturday,"

"Ok," Yuki said.

Just then, the bell rang. The children at the window quickly ran to form a straight line to go to the lunch room.

* * *

"Happy birthday Yuki!" said a group of people on Yuki's computer screen in Japanese.

"Thanks. Happy birthday Kiyoteru-kun, Miki-chan," Yuki said back, also using her native language.

"Thanks!" the two said back.

Oddly enough, Yuki and two of her cousin's birthdays fell on the same day.

"Anyway, how are you Yuki-nyan?" her cousin Iroha asked, a set of red cat ears on her head.

"I'm good," Yuki replied.

At that moment, Oliver walked over.

"Hi Yuki, the cake is almost ready-" he said, before noticing the people on the computer.

"Uhm, k-kon'nichiw-wa?" Oliver said, trying to be polite.

"Ooooh! Is that Oliver? I've heard about him from Rin and Miku, nya!" Iroha said excitedly.

Yuki went a bit pale. "Oh no, what have those two told them?" she thought.

"If you're not gonna go after him, can I, nya?" Iroha asked, licking her lips.

"I-Iroha-chan!" Yuki said, embarrassed, blush on her cheeks.

"Uh, what s she saying?" Oliver asked.

"U-Uh, that it's nice to meet you and she hopes the cake is good," Yuki said nervously.

"Oh, ok," Oliver said with a smile.

"Hello Oliver, it good to meet you," Yuki's cousin Yukari tried to say in English, her Japanese accent very thick.

"Uh, what did she say?" Oliver asked Yuki in a whisper.

"I think that may've been English," Yuki said back.

It could be easily noticed that Yukari was a bit crushed her English was not understood. Yukari took her bunny-eared hood and pulled it so that it covered part of her face.

"We should probably go and let Yuki-chan enjoy herself," said Yuki's cousin Kiyoteru, a smile on his face.

"Yeah," Yuki's cousin Miki said "Well, have a good time Yuki-chan and I hope you enjoy the presents we sent,"

"Ok, thanks," Yuki said with a smile.

"Bye Yuki!" all the cousins said.

"Bye," Yuki said to them before ending the video-chat.

Yuki then got up and walked with Oliver to the dinning room. When they got there, there was a nice looking cake with two candles, a one and a zero.

"Happy tenth birthday!" Ann and Al said to Yuki happily.

Ann lit the candles and Al turned off the lights. Ann, Al, and Oliver then started to sing "Happy Birthday". Yuki blew out the candles once they had finished singing.

"Do you want to open presents before of after cake?" Ann asked Yuki.

"I guess I could open them now," Yuki answered.

"Ok!" Ann said with a smile.

Ann went to go get the present and came back a minute later with a bag full of boxes.

"Ok, first one is from Japan," Ann said to Yuki, handing her a box.

"Oh, it's from Miki," Yuki said, opening the box.

When the box was opened, it revealed a scarf and some nail-polish. Yuki smiled at the contents; Miki was great with picking out presents. Ann then picked out another box.

"This one is from Al," Ann told Yuki. She then whispered to Yuki "Don't worry, I helped him pick it out," as she handed Yuki the box.

Yuki opened it and found a small purple jacket inside.

"Thanks," she said, looking at Al.

"You're welcome," Al answered with a smile.

"Next is another one from Japan," Ann said, handing Yuki another box.

"This is from Kiyoteru," Yuki said to herself.

When she opened it, inside were a bunch of books, about half of them were educational.

"Yup, definitely from Kiyoteru," Yuki said.

"Here's one from me," Ann said, happily handing Yuki her present.

Yuki opened it and found a nice handbag inside.

"Cool," Yuki said with a smile. She then to Ann.

"Thanks,"

"No problem!" Ann said with a smile "Here's Ritsu's gift; he told me to refrigerate it. I wonder what it is..."

Yuki took the tiny box Ann had and slowly opened it. She gave a smile as she saw a tiny, cinnamon-apple flavored cake inside the box.

"Oh, how sweet, literally!" Ann giggled "Oh, and it looks like it came from a fancy bakery too,"

"Yeah," Yuki said, a wide smile still on her face. She covered the box and set it back on the table.

"Ready for the next gift?" Ann asked. Yuki gave a nod and Ann handed her another package.

"Oh, Yukari's gift," Yuki said to herself. Her family had only recently discovered Yukari was part of the family, so this was the first present Yuki had received from her. Yuki had nothing to expect and was, just a bit, nervous. She hesitantly opened the box.

"Oh," she said upon opening it. She pulled out a panda-eared hoodie. Not a bad gift Yuki thought.

"How cute!" Ann said with a smile. "Here's another one from Japan," she said, handing Yuki a slightly larger box.

"Oh, Iroha's gift..." Yuki instantly frowned. Iroha's gifts were..."Interesting", they were almost always cat related too. She let out a sigh and opened the box. All of her suspicions and worries were confirmed when she pulled out a set of fake cat ears and tail and a ribbon with a bell on it. Typical Iroha; typical, typical Iroha.

"Well, that's a very, uhm...'Nice' present..." Ann said, trying to be polite.

"It's expected for this cousin's gift to be weird and cat-like," Yuki explained.

"Oh...Ok then," Ann said in reply.

Yuki then spotted one last box. It was small, but prettier than the others.

"O-Oh, I think I hear James chirping, I'll be right back!" Oliver said quickly as he got up and walked away at a fast pace.

Yuki found this a bit odd; she didn't think she heard James chirping.

"This last one is from Oliver," Ann said to Yuki with a smile. Yuki turned her head towards Ann and saw the small, pretty box in her hands. Ann handed Yuki the box carefully. Yuki looked at the box for a minute before going to open it.

When she opened it, she let out a tiny gasp at the contents of the box. There was a necklace inside, a tiny snowflake pendant with Yuki's birthstone on it.

"Oh, that's beautiful!" Ann said excitedly "Want me to help you put it on?" Yuki gave a speechless nod.

Ann helped the young girl put on the necklace. Once it was on Yuki turned around and looked at Ann.

"Oh, it looks beautiful on you," Ann told her with a smile.

"Th-Thanks," Yuki said, still somewhat stunned by the gift.

Oliver stood behind the corner, peeking his head from it, looking at Yuki's reaction to his gift.

"Sh-She likes it...She really likes it," he said, letting out a sigh in relief. His cheeks were tinted with red blush, his heart racing some.

"Y-Yuki, I love you..." he whispered to himself. He calmed himself and then returned back to his mother, father, and his crush.

-Chapter 8, END-


	9. Presents, Colds, and Chinese Food

It was a freezing, snowing morning. The sky was a grey-blue and the air was icy enough to run a chill down anyone's spine. Yuki awoke from her sleep and looked at the clock.

It was eight am. She decided it was late enough to get up. She sat up and remembered what day it was. Yuki got up and walked into Oliver's room.

"Oliver, you feel well enough to get up?" Yuki asked him with a yawn.

"I g-guess..." he mumbled.

"It's Christmas, remember?" she told him.

"Oh, y-yeah," he then sat up and let out a cough.

Oliver had caught a really bad cold about a week ago, but he was starting to get worse.

"You ok? Yuki asked him, concern in her voice.

"Y-Yeah," he said, getting out of bed and finding his way to his feet.

The two walked to the tree in the living room. The house was quiet, partly because Ann and Al were out. They had a big holiday gig and would be gone for a few days. Yuki and Oliver sat by the tree and sorted presents.

As Yuki was looking through them, she saw a tiny box. She picked it up and looked at it. It had a tag on it and said "To Yuki, from Oliver".

"You find all of yours?" Oliver asked, his voice a bit coarse.

"Yeah," Yuki replied. She set the tiny box down by the rest of the presents.

Both of them had four gifts each. They decided to open each other's gifts to the other last.

Yuki got a new video game, a purse, and a make-up kit. Oliver got a new hat, a watch, and a video game as well.

"Open the one I gave you first," Yuki told Oliver.

"Ok," he replied. He opened the last gift for himself and found a book of bird pictures.

"Like it?" Yuki asked him.

"Yeah, it's great," Oliver replied with a weak smile "Now, open what I gave you,"

Yuki glanced at the small box and picked it up. She opened it and found a set of earrings inside.

"Like them?" Oliver asked.

"Y-Yeah, I really do," Yuki answered.

"Put them on,"

"Ok,"

Yuki took the earrings and put them on. Oliver smiled.

"They look really pretty on you," Oliver told her.

"Th-Thanks," Yuki said, blush on her cheeks.

Oliver then started to have a coughing fit. Yuki ran and got him some water.

"Th-Thanks," he said after he finished the water.

"Oliver, you should really rest," Yuki said, a concerned look on her face.

"Th-That may be a good idea," Oliver agreed.

The two then walked to Oliver's room. Oliver laid down and Yuki put a few blankets on top of him.

"I'll be back in a little bit to check on you," Yuki told him.

"Ok," Oliver replied.

Yuki stepped out of the room, closed the door, and then walked into her own room. She tried to look for some clothing to wear, but she found that most, if not all, were in the laundry. She then remembered one last outfit. She let out a sigh, got her suitcase, opened it, and pulled out a white shirt and a red jumper. Yuki put them on and looked in the mirror. She noticed that the dye on the tips of her hair had been washed out in her shower last night.

It felt so strange to wear this outfit after the few months she hadn't worn it. She wondered why she had bothered to pack her school uniform from her school in Japan anyway.

Yuki walked out of her room and opened the door to Oliver's room and went inside. Oliver was awake, holding the old pocket watch Yuki had given him for his birthday a few days earlier.

"How are you feeling?" Yuki asked Oliver.

"A little better I guess," Oliver replied weakly. He then looked up at Yuki and smiled.

"You look cute like this," he said with a weak smile.

Yuki blushed.

"Th-Thanks," she said back, a little surprised at the complement.

"I-I should let you rest some more-"

"Wait," Oliver said, sitting up "I want to hang out with you a bit,"

"Oliver, you really should rest though," Yuki replied.

"It wouldn't be anything big, maybe just watching a little TV together?" Oliver said.

Yuki let out a sigh and said "Fine,"

Oliver then got out of his bed, bringing a blanket with him, and the two walked to the living room and sat on the couch. Yuki grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, and flipped through the channels until she found something good. They watched the TV for a while and Oliver ended up falling asleep. Yuki turned off the TV ans sat next to the sleeping boy for a while.

Just as Yuki was about to get up, Oliver hugged her in his sleep. The surprise from the sudden hug caused her to fall back onto the couch, lying on the cushions.

Yuki looked up to see Oliver asleep, laying partly on her. Yuki's face went red with blush and a mix of flustered emotions. She knew he didn't mean to do this, and that he was unaware he had caused this, but...Holy crap.

Yuki's objective was then trying to think of a way to get out without waking Oliver. After a while, she started to get distracted. She noticed how innocent and sweet Oliver looked in his sleep. She also noticed how easily she could take off the bandage around Oliver's eye and see what was under it.

Yuki shook her head. No, she couldn't. She wondered how she could ever think of doing that. After a little more thinking, and realizing that when he was sick, Oliver was a deep sleeper, Yuki figured out a way to free herself. Once she was free and to her feet, Yuki put the blanket Oliver had brought on top of him.

The rest of Yuki's day wasn't very exciting. She made herself something to eat, did some laundry, and checked on Oliver every so often. Around four pm, she ordered some Chinese take-out.

As she brought the food in from the door steps, Oliver started to wake up. Yuki noticed, put down the food and walked over to him.

"How are you feeling after sleeping so long?" she asked him.

"A little better I guess," he said sleepily.

"I got some take-out, hope you're hungry," she told him.

Oliver nodded and Yuki then started to put the containers of food on the table. Oliver sat at the table and once she finished setting out the food, she sat at the table as well. They each picked out a meal and started to eat.

Yuki still felt a bit awkward from earlier. She looked over at Oliver. He was quickly eating, enjoying his meal, having not eaten the entire day. Yuki remembered the events of earlier and blushed a bit.

"Are you ok? Your cheeks are red," Oliver said to Yuki.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Yuki replied nervously.

"I hope I didn't get you sick," Oliver said, a little worry in his voice.

"No, you didn't, don't worry," Yuki told him with a smile.

"Ok," Oliver said in reply.

Yuki decided to wait until later to tell Oliver about what had happened. When later would be she didn't know.

-Chapter 9, END-


	10. New Year's New Promise

The house phone rang. Ann quickly ran over and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked the caller.

Yuki and Oliver sat on the couch near by. It was the last day of the year, who could be calling?

As Ann's conversation went on, her expression grew dim. Once she had finished and had the set back in its spot, she turned towards the children and said

"Oliver, sweetie, can I talk you you?" gently, in a very quiet voice.

Oliver got up and he and Ann walked into his room. Maybe five minutes later, Ann came back and plopped down next to Yuki on the couch and let out a sigh.

"Did something happen?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah..." Ann replied sadly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Yuki asked, now a bit worried.

"Actually, in this situation, you might be the only thing that can help," Ann told Yuki.

"What do you mean?" Yuki questioned, puzzled.

"Well, you always seem to really brighten up Oliver's day no matter how bad he feels,"

"I do?"

"Yeah,"

Yuki took a moment to process this. She, herself, was something that made Oliver happy no matter what?

"...What happened anyway?" Yuki asked after a minute.

"I'll let him tell you," Ann replied, a sad smile on her face.

At that point, Yuki got up. She walked over to Oliver's room and knocked on the door. A weary "come in" was heard in reply. Yuki opened the door and went inside. Oliver was sitting on his bed, his face red and tear-stained. Yuki sat beside him then and asked him in an extremely gentle voice

"Oliver, are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah," Oliver replied, his voice shakey and sorrowful.

"What happened?" Yuki asked.

"Th-The c-call my mom g-got was f-from my d-doctor," Oliver started to explain "I-It was ab-bout m-my e-eye,"

"What about your eye?" Yuki asked, trying to keep Oliver calm.

"Th-They s-said they're g-going to have t-to r-remove i-it! Th-That th-they're g-gon-nna rep-place it w-with a g-gla-ass o-one!" Oliver couldn't stop himself from crying as he spoke. His tears quickly dripped down his face.

Yuki hugged him tightly. For some reason, seeing Oliver cry made Yuki herself want to burst into tears.

"I-I d-don't w-want a g-glass eye, I-I w-want m-my eye!" he sobbed.

"I-It's all gonna be ok," Yuki told him, trying not to cry herself.

After what seemed like a long time, Oliver started to calm down a bit.

"Are you alright now?" Yuki asked him.

"Y-Yeah," Oliver replied "Thank you,"

"For what?" Yuki asked.

"For listening to me, for giving me a shoulder to cry on," he told her, giving her a tiny smile.

"No problem," Yuki said back and hugged him again.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Ann and Al prepared for the night's celebration. When the time came though, the kids were awake and the adults were fast asleep on the floor. Yuki and Oliver were watching the new years celebration on TV, the new-year ball close to dropping and bringing a new year.

"Hey Yuki," Oliver started.

"Yes?" Yuki asked in reply.

"C-Can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"Well...If I have to be in the hospital for a while after they replace my eye, will you visit me?" Oliver asked somewhat shyly.

Yuki smiled and said "Of course I will," She then held out her pinky and said "I'll seal it with a pinky swear,"

Oliver then held out his pinky. As their pinkies touched, cheers came from the TV. The new year had come.

Yuki felt happy. The first promise of the new year, and what a good one too.

-Chapter 10, END-


	11. Love Feels

"Hi Yuki!" SeeU greeted happily.

"Hi," Yuki greeted back.

SeeU took a seat on the couch. The house was empty except for the two, today was the day that Oliver was getting his eye replaced and both Ann and Al decided to accompany him to the hospital. When Yuki asked if she could come, Ann told her it might be better if she didn't until everything was over.

"You must be worried for Oliver," SeeU said.

"Worried? About what?" Yuki asked, a bit confused at what SeeU meant.

"Well, with the kind of surgery Oliver's going through, there's always the slight chance he could die," SeeU explained, her tone quite calm.

"Y-You're being a little extreme..." Yuki said, trying to keep new doubts and worries out of her mind.

"This is totally out of curiousity, but, if Oliver died, what would you do?" SeeU asked Yuki.

"...I-I don't know w-what I'd do. I k-know I'd be upset, and that I would w-wish I c-could've spent more time with him, and th-that I could've s-said goodbye, a-and, a-and," Yuki just then realized that tears were quickly running down her cheeks.

SeeU pulled the young girl into a hug.

"Hey, it's ok, Oliver is fine now and he still will be after the operation," SeeU told her "...Hey Yuki, what does Oliver mean to you?"

"H-Huh?" Yuki let out, quite puzzled at the question.

"Think about what he is to you, how important he is to you," SeeU said.

Yuki started to think. What did Oliver mean to her? Well, first, she knew that they were really close and had fun together. That she was happy when she was with him. That she felt safe around him. That she thought he was the sweetest person she had ever met. That she secretly liked it when he held her hand that one time, which she herself didn't know until now. That everytime she thought of the couch-incident, she blushed. That seeing him cry made her heart break. That thinking about him dying made her start to fall apart. That...Wait. Could, could she be feeling what she thought she was feeling?

Suddenly, she remembered that time she overheard Oliver talking to James, and all the nice presents...Woah...

"Figure out your feelings yet?" SeeU asked.

"Y-Yeah...I...I l-like Oliver...More than a friend," Yuki said, surprised by her own words "A-And, does he-"

"Yes," SeeU answered, already quite aware what Yuki's question was "More than you would ever guess,"

"...w-wow..." Yuki quietly said to herself. She learned a lot about herself in those past few minutes...

At that moment, SeeU's cell phone rang. She picked it up, looked at the screen, and smiled.

"I got a text from Al," SeeU told Yuki with a smile "The surgery is done and Oliver's just fine. He's not awake yet though,"

Yuki let out a sigh of relief and quietly said "Oh, thank goodness..."

"Al also said we could start going over there now if we want," SeeU told Yuki.

"...C-Could we go now then?" Yuki asked.

"Alrighty!" SeeU said happily, getting up from the couch with a bounce in her step.

Yuki and SeeU got their coats, went outside, locked the door, and started their journey to the hospital. They hopped on to a bus, got off at a stop near the hospital, and then walked the rest of the way. When they got there, they found Al near the door, waiting for them.

"Hey," Al greeted.

"Hey!" SeeU parroted back with a smile.

"Hi," Yuki said to Al.

"I'll lead you two to Oliver's room," Al told the girls.

The three walked over to an elevator, got inside, and took it up to the third floor. Al lead them into a room; inside was Oliver, asleep in a hospital bed, Ann sitting in a chair close to him. Ann saw Al and the girls walk in and smiled at them.

"Hi..." Ann greeted, her tone not quite as cheerful as usual.

"Hi Ann!" SeeU happily said in reply.

"Hi," Yuki greeted, pulling up a chair next to her.

After that, the room was quiet, excluding the sound of Al and SeeU chatting. Yuki watched Oliver sleep, just in case he woke up anytime soon. He took soft breaths as he slept. Yuki really hoped he would wake up soon, because, for whatever reason, she felt a dire need to talk with him; even the dullest small talk would work for her right now. She then put a hand on top of one of Oliver's.

Yuki sat there for quite a while, thinking, until she thought she felt Oliver's hand move slightly. She quickly looked at him. A groan came from Oliver as he started to open his eyes.

"Hey there," Yuki said with a smile.

"H-Hi Yuki..." Oliver said weakly in reply.

"Oliver, sweetie, how are you feeling?" Ann asked Oliver, happy he was awake.

"L-Like I got hit by a b-bag of b-bricks..." Oliver weakly groaned in reply.

"Heya Ollie!" SeeU said to Oliver happily.

"Glad to see you awake," Al said to Oliver with a smile.

Oliver gave a tiny nod in recognition to Al and SeeU.

"We should probably let Oliver rest," Ann said to Al, SeeU, and Yuki.

"Yeah..." Yuki agreed, just a bit reluctantly.

At that moment, a nurse popped her head into the room.

"Mister and Misses Biginns, may I speak with you?" the nurse asked. Ann and Al agreed and stepped outside the room.

Yuki held Oliver's hand and tried to have a conversation with him. He didn't reply with much, for he was still a bit out of it from the anesthesia. A few minutes later, Ann and Al came back into the room.

"Oliver, sweetie, they want to keep you here for a little while to check that you're ok," Ann told Oliver.

"I'll drive you two home," Al told Yuki and SeeU.

"We're leaving now?" Yuki asked.

"Oliver really needs his rest dear," Ann told her.

"Ok..." Yuki replied, a bit reluctant to leave "Bye Oliver,"

"Bye Yuki," he weakly replied.

"Bye-bye Ollie!" SeeU said to Oliver with an energetic wave.

"Ok, let's let him get his rest," Al said, getting his coat.

The two girls got their coats and Al lead them to his car. Once everyone was seated and had their seat-belts on, Al started to drive. He dropped Yuki off at home first and then went off to drive SeeU home.

Yuki sat in her room. She let out a sigh as she sat on her bed.

"I hope he comes home soon..." she said to herself.


	12. Counting Blades of Grass?

It had been about a while since Oliver had his eye replaced. After his time at the hospital, he came home and spent the next few days after recuperating.

When he went back to school, he continues to wear a bandage around his eye. Yuki wondered why.

"Oliver, why do you keep wearing bandages if you don't need them anymore?" Yuki asked Oliver.

"...I don't want to talk about it," Oliver half-mumbled in replied.

"Come on, you can tell me," Yuki told him, her voice filled with a caring tone.

"It's just...It...It makes me look like a freak!" he told her, a bit of anger in his voice "It's hideous!"

"That's not true!" Yuki replied "You're still you, even with a glass eye! It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does! Everyone's going to think I'm a monster, a freak!" Oliver yelled back.

"They won't, trust me!" Yuki yelled in reply.

"Yes they will!"

"Oliver!"

"What?!"

Yuki pulled Oliver, by the collar of his shirt, close to her and kissed him. Oliver's face lit bright with red blush.

"Y-Yuki?" Oliver asked, surprised by the sudden kiss.

"Oliver, I love you," Yuki told him, looking into his eye.

"R-Really?" he asked.

"Yes," Yuki replied "Oliver, do you love me?"

"I-I do; I have for a while now actually..." Oliver replied shyly "...Yuki, can I show you something?"

"Hm? What?" Yuki asked.

Oliver tugged at the bandage around his eye.

"Please don't think of me as too much of a freak after this..." he told her, a drop of fear and sadness in his voice. He then started to unwrap the bandage, when he was done, there the glass eye was.

Yuki looked at his glass eye for a moment, and then looked into Oliver's working eye.

"I still love you just as much I did a few seconds ago," Yuki told him, a small smile on her face.

"Y-You, you mean it?" Oliver asked, his tone shy and questioning.

"I mean it," Yuki told him, her voice having a warm tone, a smile on her face.

A that moment, Oliver hugged Yuki tightly.

"Th-Thank you...Th-Thank you so much," Oliver told her, his voice now filled with joy "You've made me so happy,"

"No problem, Ollie," Yuki answered with a quiet giggle and a smile.

Just then, an "Aw" came from outside the window, followed by a "Shh!"

"...I think your parents are watching us," Yuki told Oliver.

"E-Eh?!" he let out in confusion.

Yuki walked over to the window, opened it slightly, stuck her head out of it and called out "Hi Ann, Al,"

"O-Oh, uh, hi kids!" Ann nervously replied.

"We were out here just, uh, uhm..." Al said, quickly trying to come up with an excuse.

"C-Counting blades of grass!" Ann quickly blurted out.

"Yeah, blades! Grass!" Al blurted out in agreement. The two then started to randomly call out numbers as they pointed at random patches of grass.

"How long have you two been watching?" Yuki asked the two adults.

"Since Ollie showed you his eye..." Ann answered, her voice like that of a kid who had been caught eating a cookie before dinner.

"...Oh, ok," Yuki said, quickly trying to mask the hint of relief in her voice "Aren't you guys cold out there?"

"Yes," both Ann and Al answered.

"We're going inside now though," Ann told them, starting to walk, dragging Al with her "B-Bye kids!"

After the two, although quite childish, adults had gone, Yuki shut the window and turned to Oliver.

"Well, it's getting pretty late," Yuki said "We're gonna have to sleep soon,"

"Y-Yeah..." Oliver replied, sounding very disappointed "...u-uhm, Y-Yuki?"

"Yes?" Yuki asked in reply.

"U-Uhm, c-could we, uh...k-kiss again?" he barely managed to ask, his cheeks starting to turn bright red already.

Yuki gave a smile; wow, he was really just adorable.

"Sure," Yuki happily said in reply.

This time, Oliver leaned forward enough that their eyes met, so Yuki wouldn't have to pull him by his shirt collar again, and then the two kissed.

"Goodnight, Oliver," Yuki said to him, going for the door.  
"

N-Night," he stammered, his face once again extremely bright red.

* * *

The next day, Oliver went to school without bandages, or anything else hiding his glass-eye. Sure, there were some whispers about him and he got some strange looks, but, having Yuki by his side was enough to keep all of it off his mind.

* * *

A/N  
Ohhey, my first author's note on here! Hi, how's everyone doing? (I'msoawkwardwiththesekindsofth ings-)  
So, anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far, and I'm sorry I've been too lazy to type it.  
I so much more written that I need to type, but, this story still has a few chapters I need to write and/or finish still; I'll try to update a lot sooner though, and I hope the two updates today/yesterday can partially make up for it.  
I'm dreading the next chapter though, noooooooooooooooo-


	13. The Quiet Before the Storm

"It's so awesome you two are together in time for Valentines day!" Yuyu told Oliver and Yuki in his usual cheerful tone "I wish I had someone special to share it with..."

"Don't worry, you'll find someone someday, you're too nice a person not to," Yuki told him.

"Thanks," he said back with a smile, his cheerful tone returning a bit.

Yuki then turned to Ritsu, who was standing near her, and said

"Oh, Ritsu, I know we usually spend holidays like this together, hanging out, but, I'm going to go out with Oliver this year," Yuki told her younger friend "Is that ok with you?"

"Oh, uhm...I-It's ok," Ritsu quietly said in reply.

"Are you sure?" Yuki asked him, just a bit worried.

"Y-Yeah, it's fine," Ritsu replied with a tiny smile.

"Ok," Yuki said with a smile.

A minute later, they all went to their class rooms to start the school day.

* * *

A/N:  
Ok, so, I ended up breaking up this chapter a little differently then I was going to. I was debating making this it's own chapter, but, I thought I might as well.

The chapter I've been regretting is going to be the next one now.


	14. A Day in the Life of Ritsu Namine

A/N:  
Trigger warning; self-harm! Please don't go ahead if you're easily effected by that sort of thing. :c

Ok, now that that's out of the way, I might as well say my thoughts here too. This is the chapter I've been sad about. I'm so sorry Ritsu, I'm incredibly sadistic and I recognize that fact fully-

* * *

It was February 14th, Valentines Day. The overall mood of the school was cheery; candies and notes of affection were the major topic of discussion by most of the students. However, there was one student in particular who could be seen as happy; that student was Ritsu.

As he walked into class, he got tripped by one of his classmates, the books in Ritsu's arms spilling onto the floor as he fell.

"'Sup dumb-ass clutz?" the classmate asked with a cruel smirk.

Ritsu didn't respond, he just quickly gathered his books and walked over to his seat. As he was getting settled, he noticed there was a small, folded piece of paper on his desk. He curiously picked up the note and read it.

"Meet me in the gym after school today. I want to give you a Valentines Day surprise." was written on the note. Ritsu smiled to himself.

Someone was trying to be nice to him. That hadn't happened for as long as he had come to this school. He finally had something besides seeing Yuki and his other friends at lunch to look forward to.

After what seemed to be hours, it was finally time for lunch. Once Ritsu got to the lunch room, he spotted Yuki and Oliver, being all lovey-dovey.

"Oh, here, I made these for you," Yuki told Oliver as she pulled out a small bag of cookies and handed them to him "Well, with some assistance from Ann,"

"R-Really? You made these just for me?" Oliver asked, a tiny bit of pink blush on his cheeks "Thank you so much Yuki!"

Ritsu let out a sigh as he watched them; for the longest time, it had only been Yuki and himself, but, now that Yuki and Oliver were dating, Ritsu barely got to spend anytime with Yuki at all.

It was ok though, someone was going to be nice to him at the end of the day.

Lunch dragged on for Ritsu, who had been sitting at the empty corner of a table near the back of the room. Once it was finally over, Ritsu went back to his class room. As he was trying to write down notes, a ball of paper hit the back of his head.

It was ok, someone was going to be nice to him later.

Another one hit.

It was ok, someone was going to be nice to him.

A third one hit, but, this time it was much harder than the others. Ritsu let out a tiny cry, which he tried to muffle, but it was enough to catch the teacher's attention.

The teacher got up from her desk and walked over to Ritsu's desk. She spotted the three paper balls and picked up the third one. She started to unfold the paper ball and a small rock fell out from the paper and onto the floor. As she saw the stone, an angered look grew in her pale blue eyes.

"Who threw this?" she asked her class, her tone stern with a hint of anger. Her eyes scanned the room and after a moment, she turned her attention to Ritsu.

"Ritsu, are you alright? You haven't been seriously injured, have you?" she asked, her voice gentle.

Ritsu quietly replied "I'm ok..." and the teacher returned to her desk, writing something in her book.

The rest of the school day went by without any more incidents. When the dismissal bell rang, Ritsu quickly packed his things and hurried towards the gym. When he got there, it was dark, and seemingly empty.

"H-Hello?" Ritsu called out. There was no reply.

Just as Ritsu was about to leave, disappointed, he felt something slam into his back, the force sending him to the ground. When he looked up, he found himself surrounded.

"Happy Valentines Day!" one of the children surrounding him called out in a sinister voice.

"I hope you enjoy your surprise!" another child said with a giggle.

With those words, all the kids surrounding Ritsu started kick and throw things at him. Ritsu cried and screamed.

It hurt. It hurt so much his heart could barely take it.

Ritsu wasn't quite sure of what happened yet, but, he heard someone yelling and the kicking and throwing of random things stopped. The sound of several people running away filled his ears and he felt himself being picked up. The next thing he knew, he was laying on a bed in the Nurse's office. As he started to fully wake up, he noticed that, along with the Nurse, Yuyu and his teacher were also there. Yuyu noticed Ritsu awakening and asked him

"Ritsu, are you feeling ok?"

Ritsu shook his head, his body shaking slightly.

"I've called your family, they have given me permission to drive you two home," Ritsu's teacher told Yuyu and Ritsu. She then turned to the Nurse "Thank you for staying a little later than usual, Hinotori,"

"No problem at all Miriam," the Nurse said in reply.

Shortly after, Ritsu's teacher escorted Ritsu and Yuyu to her car and drove them home. Waiting for them was a young man with black hair.

"Thank you Miss Zegro," the young man said to Ritsu's teacher.

"Not a problem, I wanted to make sure they got home safe," she said in reply.

Miss Zegro drove off about a minute or two later and Ritsu, Yuyu, and the man with black hair went inside and climbed up the stairs to their apartment. As Ritsu walked inside, a young woman ran up to him.

"Oh dear, Ritsu, what happened?" the woman asked, her voice filled to the brim with concern.

Ritsu then explained everything that had happened, just barely managing not to get teary-eyed during his retelling.

"I'm so sorry that had to happen to you!" the woman said to him, hugging him tightly.

"Hey Nuku, can you help me with my homework?" Yuyu asked the black haired man, oblivious to the mood of the room.

"Uhm, s-sure Yuyu..." the man told him, quite aware that now was not the time for such a question.

"Hey, Ritsu, why don't you help me start dinner," the woman asked Ritsu, "I'll let you have some of the left-over cabbage,"

"Ok, Seika..." Ritsu mumbled in reply.

Ritsu helped Seika start dinner. Seika had put him in charge of chopping vegetables. He cut into each one with a nice, even chop. A very nice chop...Very nice...

"H-Hey, Seika," Ritsu started, quickly putting the knife up one of his sleeves "I'm feeling a bit tired, can I go and rest in my room for a while?"

"Oh, sure Ritsu. You've done quite a bit anyway," she replied with a smile.

Ritsu gave a small "Thank you" before he dashed off to his room. He quickly checked to make sure Yuyu wasn't in there, for he shared the room with him. Lucky, he wasn't there. Ritsu shut the door, hopped onto his bed and took the knife out of his sleeve. It was winter, so, he could easily use part of his upper arm without anyone noticing.

He rolled up a sleeve and held the knife up to his upper arm. He had promised quite a few people he wouldn't do this sort of thing anymore, but, he had to punish himself. He had to punish himself for being an idiot who thought someone cared about him; for thinking that there was someone who didn't think of him as a failure, or a waste of space, or an unnecessary life, or-

Ritsu made a slash into his arm. He looked at the blood running down his arm. Ritsu didn't know if he should be feeling disgusted or intrigued by this sight. The sound of a cheerful voice quickly broke him out of this state.

"Ritsu, dinner's ready!" Yuyu called out, his footsteps coming closer.

Crap! Ritsu quickly hid the knife and pulled his sleeve over his cut. He couldn't have anyone know, not a single soul.

"Hey, Ritsu, didn't you hear me?" Yuyu said, opening the door and peeking his head inside "Dinner's ready!"

"Y-Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes, don't wait for me," Ritsu replied, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Oh, ok!" Yuyu said happily as he walked away.

Ritsu sat absolutely still for a few moments after Yuyu left, making sure he wouldn't come back. When he had decided it was safe, he took in a deep breath; it seemed he had almost held his breath for the entire wait. Ritsu then quickly got up and dashed to the bathroom to patch himself up a bit before going to eat.


End file.
